Friday, 30 September 2016

Project Gilgamesh a failed National Plan in UK?

Has Humanity’s search for immortality has ground to a halt in UK?

Several scientists declare that the first 1,000 year old man or woman has already been born somewhere in the world.

Medical science provides new innovations almost each month: from DNA and genome mapping to the use of graphene as bone replacements for hip and knee operations and systemic blood and organ manufacturing with almost every body part now capable of being replaced.

Mortality in the developed world is around 81 years old and a global average around 67 years old.

Even the poorest nations such as Afghanistan or Chad have mortality around 50 years old.

Lifespans have improved in leaps and bounds from around 33 years old in 1800 to around 45 in 1900.

But in UK there is no National Plan – a Gilgamesh Plan - to extend mortality.

Certainly there’s nothing beyond crossing your fingers and relying on the natural increases in mortality that inches forward by an average of 2 years per decade.

But South Africa is aiming to do more than that – it’s National Plan is to improve mortality from 63 years old to 70 years old before 2020. That’s partly to reverse the carnage wrought by the HIV epidemic, but a deliberate longer-term public health initiative too.

While the Dutch Actuarial Association believes that Holland will easily achieve mortality rates of 91 years old for a child born this year.

And Google has developed Calico Research Labs:

http://www.calicolabs.com/

Why isn’t UK doing more?

Why shouldn’t the NHS not just be rolling out basic improvements in cataract operation or 12,000 medical error deaths or speeding up the DNA tests – but putting in place a National Plan for Project Gilgamesh of say a minimum of 150 years old mortality by 2100?

Amortality is perfectly possible – extending mortality except for accidents – with current medical science and improvements in public health with air pollution and a focus on the 200 cancers, and basic cardiovascular problems that cause most natural deaths now.

UK is forecasting to be tobacco-free by 2025 which is muddling along at best with 16.9% of the adult population still smoking and gradually dying off.
And more could be done on food manufacturing: rapidly moving to sugar-free formulations in soda and food, and low-fat and low-chemical as a food standard.
New York City for example has already moved on bans of transfat fats and supersize fast food portions.

Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook has not only called for 100% internet access which is completely feasible within a year or so. But he has also announced a $3BN to help end all diseases by 2100 – again a target that will easily be achieved.

The issue isn’t achieving the end of disease –but achieving it as rapidly as possible.

Malaria and HIV and TB are all falling well below the 1M deaths per year. Manufacturing and distributing a few million nets and condoms and tablets isn’t complicated.

It’s outrageous that the G20, that initiates 90% of the global economy, haven’t all already committed to 0.7% aid to achieve the UNSDG30.

And UK lags behind nations such as Philippines in ensuring the UNSDG30 are placed into national policy.

At the very least the G20 money could be printed and then the debt written off as a once-in-a-generation task.

And also with sewers and water filtration as basic public health initiatives, global mortality should be increased up from the average of 67 years old to 81 years old within 5 years or 10 years at the most.

Traffic accidents kill 1.2M people per year, and Smoking 5M, Air pollution 3M and Cancer 8M -so perhaps 20M lives worldwide each year could be saved from preventable causes.

Why hasn’t UK done it, when Netherlands and South Africa are already moving ahead on mortality?

And Sweden and Japan beat UK on most health indicators?
And certainly ending the horrifying regional discrepancies in mortality – a few miles and a different postcode in UK can mean dying upto 7 years earlier.

UK doesn’t even have a National Plan on ending air pollution with a requirement for all vehicles to be electric and all fuel sources to be fossil-free. By 2020? 2025? Who knows.